Watching Over You
by Moonlit Seductress
Summary: The Jewel is complete, the wish made...and the well sealed. With this unexpected turn, the Inutachi must wait five hundred years to be reunited with Kagome.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: One more story, being reworked because...well, because I have a tendancy to mess things up. Look for a new chapter with a week (hopefully).

* * *

**Watching Over You  
**By: Moonlit Seductress  
Prologue

* * *

Kagome watched the battle, separated from her body. She watched as she drew back her arm, arrow notched and ready. She watched as Sango, crouched in a fighter's stance, remained in front of Miroku, protecting him. She watched the monk sit cross – legged on the ground, fingers clasped together, the air around him shimmering with holy power. An ofuda lay on the ground before him, also shimmering as the power flowed into it. She watched as Shippou stood nearby, the blue hint of foxfire gleaming at his fingertips. 

Glittering amber eyes lifted to the form at the other end of the battlefield, wrapped in torn white fur. Clawed hands shifted on Tetsusaiga's hilt. "Go," a rough voice whispered.

The group launched into action. Miroku snapped from his trance, slapping the readied ofuda onto Hirakotsu. Sango hurled the boomerang, the power of the spell causing it to fly faster than ever. It hurtled through the air, towards the baboon cloaked figure. Naraku smirked and raised a hand. A small wave of demons moved in to intercept the boomerang, but the bone simply tore through them.

Another wave moved forward. An indigo blast of foxfire and a hiss from the fully transformed Kirara had them skittering away in all directions, while Hirakotsu continued its inexorable flight.

The boomerang whisked past Naraku, so close that he jumped back, flicking his attention to it for a split second. But it was long enough for that same rough voice to call out again. "Now, Kagome!" And Kagome watched herself let the arrow fly, her miko powers enveloping the projectile and sending it streaking towards Naraku in a halo of pink light.

"Wind Scar!" Inuyasha's shout was almost drowned out by the sounds of battle. The power from Tetsusaiga caught the speeding arrow and gave it a boost. Kagome pulled herself together and concentrated all her energy on that white tipped arrow, and the pink aura surrounding it increased.

There was a musical twang, and suddenly, another arrow was racing towards Naraku. Kagome spun around. "Kikyou," she breathed, hearing Inuyasha echo her.

Kikyou stood, bow in hand, the other stretched out, pink beaming from it. The clay girl locked eyes with Kagome, a challenge in their brown depths. Understanding, Kagome gritted her teeth and focused harder, watching with detached pride as the aura around her arrowincreased again.

Inuyasha tracked the progress of the arrows. '_Almost there…almost there...now!'_ He raised Tetsusaiga. "_Kongousouha!"_

The scream that ripped from Naraku was unlike anything Kagome had ever heard. Unearthly, evil, and fraught with defeat, it was something she prayed that she would never hear again. And when it was all over, the wicked creature that had plagued Kagome's dreams for two years, and the dreams of countless others' for over half a century, was reduced to a crater in the earth, a chunk of the Shikon no Tama flickering innocently through the plume of black smoke.

_'It's over,'_ she thought dimly. Somehow, it was all over. She fell to her knees, drained by the use of such concentrated power when she was so untrained, by the battle, by the trials and trauma of two long years. '_It's all over_.'

She heard the telltale clicking of the prayer beads around Miroku's hand, and she turned towards the sound, watching as the monk unwrapped his cursed hand. "Gone," he said hoarsely, half expecting the Kazanna to roar to life and suck everything into the blackness. Sango held her hand against his, feeling nothing pull her in. "Gone," she confirmed.

Kagome smiled bitterly, letting her head drop again. Through her tear filled eyes, she could make out a pair of sandals standing in front of her. Blinking, she looked up to see Kikyou. The older girl was holding out the large jewel fragment. Kagome struggled to her feet and accepted the pink jewel that was dropped in her outstretched hands. She looked up into the deep brown pools that were trained on her own. There was a calm, quiet satisfaction in them, and what looked like a hint of a smile.

"Well done."

The words were clipped and precise, tinged with the coolness Kikyou always bestowed upon her reincarnation, but they warmed Kagome's heart. Such praise from Kikyou made her feel – just for a second – that she was worthy of looking the girl straight in the face.

The older priestess turned to Inuyasha, and Kagome followed suit, wincing at the look on the hanyou's face. Kikyou smiled sadly, reaching one hand up to touch a lock of silver hair. "I will miss you," she said simply.

Souls began to rip from her body, streaking off into the night sky like shooting stars. "Kikyou!" Inuyasha lunged for her, but a spirit cut across his path. Kagome felt a twinge in her heart. '_My soul – it's…complete.'_

But there was no time to marvel at the wonder. The last spirit left Kikyou's body, and the clay priestess crumbled to dust – fine, gray dust that scattered into the wind and disappeared.

Kagome turned to Inuyasha. His amber eyes were darkened to almost brown, and his expression bordered on painful. She stretched out a hand. "Inu – "

"Let's go," he interrupted. "I want to get out of here."

She nodded. He silently offered her his back, but she shook her head. "I can walk. You're injured."

To tell the truth, none of them were in the greatest shape. Sango's bodysuit was torn at the shoulder, blood still seeping from three slashes. Her sword was broken, and Hirakotsu had a large crack down the middle. Her face was streaked with dirt and blood, and her eyes were dull.

Miroku was clinging to the broken halves of his staff, his knuckles white. The staff had been his father's, and it pained him to see it broken, even though he knew it could be repaired. He stumbled as he walked, traces of poison from the insects his wind tunnel swallowed still lingering in his veins.

Kirara was bleeding from a slight gash on her front left leg, the dark red liquid staining her creamy fur. She carried Shippou, who had passed out from exhaustion, and the body of Kohaku. Sango's brother had died at the instant Naraku did, as the power that held him captive disappeared. Even the jewel shard still in his back was not enough to sustain him.

Inuyasha was undoubtedly the worst off. He had two holes in his chest, both from the vines of one of Naraku's puppets. Both hands were bleeding, his claws broken, and there was a deep wound above his right eye, the blood trickling down his face, oddly resembling tears.

The reached a small clearing, and Kagome rummaged through her faithful yellow backpack, pulling out her first aid kit. She handed Miroku some anti venom medicine, and breathed a sigh of relief when his eyes brightened slightly, and his hands shook less.

The two of them carefully pulled Kohaku's body off Kirara, laying him down on the unrolled sleeping bag. Kagome placed Shippou beside him, and carefully bandaged Kirara's leg. The tiny fire cat gave a grateful mew before curling up next to Shippou and falling asleep.

Kagome glanced at Sango, then up at Miroku. Frowning, she picked up an empty water bottle and handed it to the monk. "Could you go and fill this up, please?"

Miroku eyed Sango unhappily, obviously catching on to the plan. But he sighed, and took the bottle. "Of course, Kagome." He walked into the forest, searching out a stream, muttering the whole while about how nothing in life was fair.

Moving quickly, Kagome helped Sango out of the bloodstained uniform and into her usual kimono. She then cleaned and bandaged the slash marks, smirking slightly when Miroku returned with the water, looking disappointed to see Sango fully clothed.

_'Next,'_ Kagome thought dryly. She was expecting an argument with Inuyasha – the stubborn hanyou always insisted that he didn't need her remedies, that he would heal fine on his own. But as she approached him warily, she was shocked to find no resistance from him. He hissed in pain as she wiped the cut above his eye with a damp cloth, his claws gouging tracks in the dirt. Reaching for his hands, she carefully washed the blood from them, and wrapped them in gauze, knowing they would be fine by morning.

She started to pull away, but he dragged her back onto her knees, amber eyes intent. Staring up at him, her own eyes widened in surprise as he pressed the damp cloth to the cut on her cheek, her only real injury. He then pulled her against him, settling her in his lap, her head resting against his shoulder. "Sleep now, Kagome," he said softly, as though speaking to a child. "You've had a rough day."

She started to protest, but his clawed hand gently stroking her head was enough to make her eyes slide shut, and she knew no more.

* * *

Kaede looked up to find the disheveled group slowly making their way towards her. Her wise old eyes took in the scene – Miroku, with a bleary eyed Shippou on his shoulder, still gripping his broken staff. Kirara carrying Sango, who was holding the body of a young man, presumably Kohaku. Kagome, with her backpack on her back, a broken bow in her hands, and an almost whole Shikon Jewel at her throat. And Inuyasha, his fire rat clothing torn and filthy, his silver hair stained red with blood, Tetsusaiga at his hip as always. 

The old woman shook her head as they moved into the hut. Kohaku was placed on a futon, Sango next to him, her brown eyes haunted. Inuyasha settled against the far wall, eyes closed, and body limp. Miroku sat next to Sango, staring at his lap, silent for once. But Kaede only had eyes for the young girl from the future, who held out the Jewel.

She shook her head. "Nay, child, only ye may possess it. Have ye gathered every piece?"

"There's still the one shard in…with Kohaku," Kagome stammered. "Sango, I wanted to wait and make sure – "

"Take it," the demon exterminator interjected. "It can't save him now."

Kagome nodded, tears in her eyes as she gently removed the last shard from the young boy's body. It glowed pink in her hand, purified, and she brought it against the rest of the Jewel, fitting it into the tiny groove.

The Jewel pulsed in her hands, once again pink and perfect. She glanced at Kaede, and then at Inuyasha, and back again. The old priestess nodded, watching as Kagome stepped across the room, stopping in front of the noiseless half demon. "Here," she whispered, dropping the Jewel into one healed hand and moving back, eyes closing.

She felt a rush of power, then a sense of emptiness, and she knew the wish was made and the Shikon Jewel was gone. But she was afraid – afraid to open her eyes, afraid to see a full demon Inuyasha standing in front of her.

She finally pried her eyes open, face twisting in anticipation.

But everything seemed normal. Inuyasha was still sitting before her – it looked as though he hadn't even moved. "Inu…yasha?"

He climbed to his feet slowly. "What?" he demanded, voice just as snappish and rude as it always was.

"Nothing," Kagome said quickly. "Uh…could I go home? Just for a day?"

"I guess so," he replied. "But you'd better be back here tomorrow, wench. We've still got jewel shards to…" he trailed off, realizing that there really wasn't anything to force her to come back for. "Let's go," he bit out, storming from the room. Kagome ran after him. "Inuyasha!"

She chased after him. "Will you wait up, I want to tell you something!" But he didn't stop until they reached the well.

"What?" he asked, glaring at her. Taking a deep breath, she reached out and removed the rosary from around his neck, stuffing the beads into her pocket. He stared. "Kagome…?"

"You've grown up so much in the past two years, Inuyasha. Those beads were there to keep you from killing me, but I don't think I need them anymore. Besides, I was kinda abusing them, wasn't I?" Without waiting for an answer, she hugged him quickly. "I'll be back tomorrow."

She leapt into the well, and Inuyasha watched her go, when something tugged at his memory. "Oh for the love of…stupid wench forgot her stupid bag." Scooping it up from beside the well, he jumped in after her.

* * *

Back in modern Japan, Kagome finished her climb from the well, only to stop at the lip. "Oh, come on," she moaned. "I can't believe I forgot my bag." Letting go of the sides, she let herself fall back…

…only to slam into the ground. "What the hell?" she gasped, winded from her rough landing.

* * *

Inuyasha hit the ground with a thud. "What the hell?" he demanded, climbing to his feet.

* * *

Trapped 500 years apart, the hanyou and the schoolgirl stared at the stone walls of the well. Twin voices raised in confusion and terror. 

_"Why can't I get through?"_

* * *

TBC 

A/N: Please review!


	2. Rude Awakening

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

A/N: Another chapter done. Enjoy!

* * *

**Watching Over You  
**By: Moonlit Seductress  
Chapter One: Rude Awakening

* * *

Beep. 

Beep.

**Beep! **

BEEP!

BEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEPBEEP!

A clawed hand reached out and swept the alarm clock off the table and onto the floor. It gave one last, valiant "BEEP!" before falling silent. Fuzzy white ears moved gratefully from their position – flattened against a white haired head. Fanged jaws split in a huge yawn, and a red tongue curled with the movement.

"ACK!"

The yawn was cut off as a large weight landed on Inuyasha's chest. "Haha," the disturbance laughed. "Told you that if you didn't wake up, I was gonna…uh oh." The deep growl rolling from the chest he was sitting on served as a warning and a promise – of pain to come. "Hehe…"

The weight pressing down on Inuyasha's lungs was suddenly removed, but this did not stop the awakened hanyou from sitting bolt upright. "That's right, you'd better run, you little brat! Cause when I catch you, you're gonna wish you were still back in the Feudal Era!"

Like a white and red bullet, the dog demon sprang from his bed and shot down the hall. He blurred past a dark head sticking out of the bathroom door. "Please, Inuyasha, it's 6 am!"

"I know!" Inuyasha shouted back. "Tell that to this stupid – ", grunt, scuffle, " – little – " cry of terror, thud, growl, " – OW! He BIT me!"

"Serves you right, you overgrown – augh! That hurt! I'll bite off your ears, you stupid mutt!"

"Bring it, you flea-bitten fox! I'll eat you for breakfast! GET BACK HERE!"

"HA! Try and catch me! You can't, old man!"

Someone sighed in a corner of the kitchen, and there was a lighting jingling sound.Then…

_Whack!_

_Whack!_

"Inuyasha, stop killing Shippou. Shippou, you know better than to wake Inuyasha on a Saturday."

The kitsune shook the stars from his vision. "I didn't!" he protested. "His alarm went off!" He dodged a swipe from the hanyou, who went back to rubbing the lump on his head. "Yeah, cause you set it, you little weasel."

"Who're you calling a weasel, you mongrel?"

"Why you…"

There was a menacing jingle, and Inuyasha flattened his ears. "Bug off, Miroku. Haven't you got someone to grope?"

The monk placed a hand over his heart. "Inuyasha, you wound me." Inuyasha snorted, rolling his amber eyes.

"If he doesn't, I will, you pervert," a new voice threatened. Miroku's eyes gleamed. "Sango, my dear, you look particularly lovely this – "

"Back off, houshi."

Shippou and Inuyasha snickered, causing Miroku to reach out and bonk them with his staff again.

"Ow!

"You stupid lecher, I'll kill ya!"

Sango sighed, placing her head in her hands and breathing deeply a few times. Before they could start the massacre, she hopped up onto the kitchen table and whistled loudly.

Frozen in mid – grapple, the three looked up at her. "Now, I know you three don't have the brain capacity of a worm youkai when you're put together, but do you happen to know what day it is?"

"Saturday!" Shippou crowed. Sango closed her eyes, counted to ten, and opened them again. "Yes, Shippou," she replied through gritted teeth, "It's Saturday. But does anyone know why this Saturday is important?"

"Cause it's the day I finally get to kill this brat!" Inuyasha snarled at Shippou, who avoided fangs and claws to reach out and violently twist one of the soft puppy ears that twitched so invitingly. "OW!" The scuffle broke out again, and Sango had to count to 147 before she was able to speak. "NO!" she shouted above the noise of the carnage. "It's May 14th!"

Miroku struggled to check his watch, but found it impossible, due to the fact that his arm was buried beneath Shippou, Inuyasha, and himself. "I'm sure it is," he agreed, giving up on the watch and glancing at the calendar, stifling a snort as he did so. A little white puppy, showing off great golden eyes was the picture for May. He had found the calendar in a bookstore, laughed his head off at the pictures of the fluffy dogs, and brought it home, pinning it up on the wall despite Inuyasha's swear words and death threats. "It certainly feels like May 14th."

"Good – that's the date they'll put on your tombstone," Inuyasha threatened, "if you don't get off me."

Muttering about senseless violence, Miroku wrenched his arm out from beneath the two idiots and stood, brushing off his black jeans and purple t-shirt. He finger – combed his short black hair back into it's usually ponytail and checked to make sure none of his earrings had been ripped out in the fight. "Now then, Sango," he said calmly, gazing up at the demon exterminator, still on the table, and cursing his luck that she wasn't wearing a skirt. "What's so important about May 14th?"

"It's Kagome's birthday, you retards!"

Silence spread over the kitchen like a blanket of snow. "Shit," Inuyasha finally spat. "Shit. This means that – "

"Yes," Sango confirmed. "That the Jewel will emerge, and every youkai in Japan will be trying to get it from her. We. Cannot. Allow. This. To. Happen. She has to hold onto the Jewel until she turns 15, and falls down the well. Otherwise, we'll have wasted the wish and five hundred years!"

She climbed down from the table, ignoring Miroku's offered hand. "Keep that where I can see it," she warned.

"What time is it?" Inuyasha asked. Sango checked her watch. "Just afer six," she answered. "We've got half an hour, approximately. We need to get to the hospital, cause I'll bet that at least one patient or doctor in there is youkai, and will attempt to get the Jewel."

"Right," Inuyasha said, flipping to his feet. "Lemme get dressed, and we'll get moving."

Zipping back to his bedroom, he pulled on a red t-shirt and his favourite jeans, ran a brush through his silver hair, and stuffed his feet into sandals with a grimace. Five hundred years, and he still hated shoes with a passion. Thankfully, he could wear sandals. He hated winter, when the ice and snow forced his feet into proper shoes or even boots.

The others were already waiting in the car, Miroku behind the wheel of the black station wagon. "I'll follow you," Inuyasha shouted out to them, grabbing the keys to his own car. He locked the door of the houseand headed for his car, spitting out a stream of violent swearwords as the Ford rolled forwards instead of backwards. "Reverse, you idiot!" he shouted at the monk, who threw him a sheepish grin. "He's been driving since the 1920s and he still doesn't know the difference."

Leaping into his red Corvette in one fluid motion, he stuffed the key in the ignition. The car roared to life, and he patted the dashboard. "I know, baby, it's early. Believe me, it's not my idea."

The drive to the hospital was tense, and Inuyasha found himself chafing at every red light. They still had time, but they needed to get in place, and he didn't want to take any chances. Not only was the Jewel at stake, but so was Kagome.

* * *

Twentyminutes later, Inuyasha found himself perched high in a tree next to the hospital, staring through a window into a cheerful yellow room. Mrs. Higurashi, looking younger than he remembered, was lying on the bed, breathing steadily. A man that Inuyasha had never seen when he had known Kagome in the past – or the future, if you wanted to get technical (Inuyasha didn't, it made his head hurt) – was holding Mrs. H's hand, looking far more sick and worried than his wife. 

The door opened, and an older man breezed in. "I hear you're having a baby, Kiri?" he teased the young woman.

"Really?" she replied, her voice dry. "I hadn't noticed."

The doctor smiled. "Well, if that's what's going on, then let's get to it."

Realizing what came next, Inuyasha turned his head away, turning back only when he heard the cry of a baby and he felt the swoon of power that could only be the Jewel. His amber eyes flicked to the baby as it was quickly cleaned and wrapped in a pink cloth. "Congratulations, it's a girl," the doctor beamed.

Inuyasha continued to stare at the red faced, screaming babe, now in her mother's arms. His eyes filled with tears. '_Screaming, as usual,'_ he thought with a smile. '_Hello, Kagome.'_ It was hard to think that this tiny, wailing creature would grow up to be the beautiful girl he knew – or had known…

He shook his head_. 'Pull yourself together; you've got a job to do. She won't grow up to be that beautiful girl if you let a youkai slip past and…' _He trailed off, not wanting to think about what could happen.

After an hour, Inuyasha heard Miroku's whistle, signaling all clear for now. He jumped down from the tree – and promptly fell over. "Oh jeez, my ass is completely numb." He pondered rubbing the feeling back into the body part, but decided against it. All he needed was for Miroku to appear and witness _that. _

As he had anticipated, Miroku and Sango turned the corner, and he leapt to his feet. "Anything?"

Sango nodded, face grim. "Weasel youkai. He was a patient on the first floor – funny how fast his leg healed once he sensed the Jewel."

"Did he give you any trouble?"

"No. I took him down."

"Alright then." He frowned. "Wait, who's keeping watch?"

The two humans exchanged glances. "Ah…Shippou, actually," Miroku answered, waiting for the inevitable explosion.

…three…

…two…

…one…

"WHAT! You mean that runty little twerp is watching over KAGOME!"

_'Right on schedule.'_ Miroku rolled his eyes. "Inuyasha, that runty little twerp is five centuries old now. Give him a _little_ credit."

"Keh," Inuyasha grunted. "If anything happens, I'll – "

"Yes, yes, we all know, death and disembowelment. Really, can we get a move on? I'm missing Saturday morning cartoons."

"Weirdo," Inuyasha muttered as they headed home.

* * *

"Bleah," Inuyasha uttered, unlocking the door and heading straight for his room. He paused to knock on the door to Sango's room. "Your watch," he called. 

"I'm going," she replied, somewhat groggily.

He continued on, closing the door behind him and collapsing on his bed. He was exhausted. It took a lot to exhaust a hanyou – a 48 hour shift, for one thing – but he really was exhausted.

Still, there had been two attempts – a moth demon, and a wolf demon that reminded him forcibly of Kouga – and it felt good to sink his claws into something again. He hadn't even bothered with Tetsusaiga, craving the feel of flesh and bone tearing beneath his hands. Sure, it was primitive and maybe even cruel – but he was half _demon, _as well as half human.

He rubbed those same hands over his face, slipping into thought. His hands had done a lot. They killed. They destroyed. They broke. And yet Kagome had never seemed afraid of them. _Well, at least not after the first time, when I kept shredding the ground. I still can't believe she thought I would actually kill her. _

Kagome… 

She'd been in his thoughts a lot lately – most likely due to the fact that he was near her a lot. The scent of her – even though it was different, tinged with a baby's aura instead of that of a young woman – was almost like an aphrodisiac, making him feel light and happy. Her tears caused him the same feeling of helplessness and lack of control as they had when she was fifteen, even though he knew it was different – that she was a baby and babies cried.

His thoughts drifted away from Kagome, and onto the wish. The wish, and the whole reason he was here, waiting for the girl he loved to grow up.

His wish had been simple (or so he thought ) and something he knew Kagome would have loved. He had wished that they could all be together forever. A well meant wish, indeed. And it had been granted – the whole lot of them were now immortal. Even himself and Shippou, who were demons, and would have lived longer anyways, no longer aged. They were forever the age they had been on the day he made the wish.

But the well had sealed that same day, and they had lost Kagome – not forever, but for five hundred years. And a long, painful wait it had been. Though she had also been made immortal, it had been when she was seventeen, and they still had to wait until she hit that age. Inuyasha wondered how hard it would be, watching her fall through the well, watching himself, from five hundred years ago, follow her around.

Not that they could get back through the well, of course. The time portal seemed to realize that there was already one of them in the past, and another was not allowed.

And so they waited. Living for five centuries was interesting, to say the least. In the 1800s, when humans really began to take over, the remaining youkai population had to disguise themselves. A spell had been found – once cast, it forever made the bearer look human – at least to someone without youkai blood. But for some reason, a tiny number of humans – Miroku and Sango were among that number – remained unaffected by the spell, and could see youkai for what they were.

Luckily, they had Kagome's history book, from in the backpack that Inuyasha kept even now, in his closet, and they were able to learn about events well in advance. This allowed them to escape Japan and live elsewhere during the wars that rocked the world.

And now, they lived in a small house next to the Higuashi shrine. They had, with great amusement, watched Kagome's grandparents and parents grow up in the little shrine, and they knew that the girl who had touched their lives so greatly was next.

But through it all, Inuyasha maintained the firm belief that it was all meant to be. There had been a number of attempted attacks on Kagome and the Jewel, and he couldn't understand how she could have escaped them all and managed to stay alive – that is, if they weren't there to protect her. He believed that they had been there all along, and that the wish was fated to happen.

_'Only a few more years. Then I'll be able to tell Kagome everything I couldn't tell her in the past...'_

_'How much I love her, to start with.'_

* * *

TBC 

A/N: Please review!


	3. Of Time and Perverts

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha

A/N: Last chapter redone - the next one is in progress. Thanks!

* * *

**Watching Over You**  
By: Moonlit Seductress  
Chapter Two: Of Time and Perverts

* * *

The phone trilled loudly, sending its message pealing through the small house. The hanyou with his head buried under his pillow groaned loudly, dragging one hand out from under the covers to pick up the receiver, and held his near his sensitive ear. "Hello?" he uttered, voice clogged with sleep. 

"Inuyasha!" the returning voice cried.

"Shippou, you little snot," Inuyasha snarled. "This had better be good – I just got off a shift!"

"Will you shut up and listen to me!" Shippou shouted. "There's a demon heading for Kagome's school! A _spider_ demon!"

There was no answer, only a clatter and the sound of pounding footsteps. Shippou replaced the receiver and stepped out of the phone booth, racing on scampering feet back to where he'd left Sango and Miroku.

He wasn't surprised to hear someone following behind him, and he didn't even blink when Inuyasha blurred past, a fuzzy blob of black and white. He wasn't, however, expecting the clawed hand that reached back to grab his head. "Hurry up, runt," Inuyasha said, settling the kitsune on his shoulder. "Is it Naraku?" he continued.

Shippou shrugged, recovering from the shock of his sudden snatch. "Dunno. I don't think so – didn't smell like him, but with spider demons, you can never be too sure. Even if it isn't Naraku, it's still a spider."

"True," Inuyasha agreed, springing off the roof of a parked car to land on a rooftop. He leapt from building to building, hitting the ground as they neared Kagome's school. From the corner of his eye, he spotted Miroku sprinting behind him, stopping a short way from the school to put up a barrier, keeping anyone from entering or escaping.

Sango was waiting on the roof, Hirakotsu ready in her hands. Her feet were bare, her high-heeled pumps abandoned a few feet away, and she had hiked up her knee length skirt. "Figures," she hissed as Inuyasha landed in a crouch, flipping Shippou off his shoulder. "The one day I wear girl clothes."

"The pervert's gonna love that look on you," Inuyasha commented, scanning the school grounds for the demon.

"I know," Sango grated in reply. A sudden rush of power was felt, and they watched as the blue barrier rose, enclosing the school in a dome of spiritual power. The door leading to the staircase crashed open, and Miroku stumbled through. "Wish Kagome could lend a hand with that," he said, gasping for air. He glanced appraisingly at Sango, who leveled a murderous glare at him. "Make one remark and you will find yourself hurtling over the edge of this roof," she threatened.

Miroku merely grinned, saying all he needed to with the tilt of his lips and the sparkle in his eyes. Sango growled, but was cut off by Shippou's cry. "There it is!"

The group sprang into action. The spider was on the outskirts of the grounds. It attempted to pass through the barrier, but the shield crackled with purifying power, sending the demon skittering back. It whirled to face Inuyasha, who had jumped from the roof to land in front of it.

"I will have the Jewel," it hissed, striking at Inuyasha with one clawed leg.

"Fat chance," Inuyasha retorted, swiping Tetsusaiga from the sheath and neatly slicing off the same leg. The demon howled, shooting venom-laced webs at the hanyou, who dodged the burning threads. "I will have it!"

The spider jumped suddenly, firing a line of silk at the side of the school and pulling itself onto the building. "That child has it – and it will be mine!" It scuttled up to a fourth floor window, preparing to smash the glass.

Inuyasha grabbed two hairy legs and hurled the spider off the building, ducking as an ofuda flew over his head to land, burning, on the demon's back. "Watch it, you nearly nailed me with that stupid thing!" Inuyasha yelled at Miroku.

"Wouldn't want that to happen, would we?" The monk returned innocently.

"Damn right! What would you all do if – "

"Watch out, Inuyasha!" Shippou shouted. Swearing, Inuyasha whirled and jumped as the spider shot the poison dripping webs at him.

* * *

Twelve-year-old Kagome glanced out the window and did a double take. There was a strange looking man outside – with long white hair and a huge sword. As she watched, the man jumped – impossibly high – and brandished the sword at a large, hairy…something. Kagome wanted to say spider, but something was wrong about that statement. 

The spider like thing knocked the white haired man out of the air, and Kagome felt her heart lurch. Without thinking, she sprang to her feet, running to the window.

* * *

Inuyasha caught sight of Kagome at the window, and his heart sang. "You're starting to piss me off," he told the spider demon. "Wind Scar!" 

The deadly energy ripped through the demon, leaving not even a single spider hair in its wake.

Inuyasha smirked, dropping Tetsusaiga back into its sheath. Miroku approached, his attention on the window where Kagome stood. "Seems that her presence is as effective as always," he remarked.

* * *

"Higurashi!" The teacher's voice filtered into Kagome's conciousness, and she tore her eyes away from the strange man. "Get back in your seat!" 

"Sorry, sensei," Kagome gasped, hurrying back to her seat. The teacher glared for a moment longer, before turning back to the blackboard, and Kagome turned back to the window.

But the both the spider creature and the strange man were gone.

Kagome continued to stare out at the now empty schoolyard.

'_What was that?'_

* * *

Miroku stretched his arms above his head, sneaking a peek at the generous amounts of creamy thigh Sango was revealing. She had forgotten about the skirt pulled up above her knees, and he was certainly enjoying it. 

"So," Inuyasha started, plunking his Coke can on the table and leaning back. "What do we do now?" He looked inquiringly at Sango, who shrugged.

"The same thing we've been doing for the past twelve years, I guess," she replied. "Sit and wait."

"Well, obviously," Inuyasha scoffed. "But what I meant was what do we do when the waiting is done? We've got three more years. What happens after those three years?"

"Don't you know the story?" Miroku teased. "The pure hearted and beautiful miko falls down through time to pull the evil hanyou off the tree, freeing him from the spell that fixed him there for fifty years – although Kami knows why she'd want to free him."

Shaking a warning fist in the monk's direction, Inuyasha continued. "I know all that. But while she's back in Feudal Japan playing around with our former selves, what are we doing?"

"The same thing we've been doing for the past twelve years," Sango repeated. "Keep her safe from demons in this time, same as we will in the past. Or rather, our former selves will." She stared hard at Inuyasha. "You do realize that you can have no contact with her until she is seventeen – the day you made the wish."

Inuyasha made no reply. He knew, of course, but he had some idea of how hard it would be to watch himself tagging after Kagome. Sango moved suddenly, springing from her chair to grab his forelocks, pulling his face to meet hers.

"No. Contact." she said, voice deathly calm. "If you talk to her, or even if she just sees you, this will have all been for nothing. She will tell your past self, and you know very well that you'll come after yourself, and possibly even kill yourself."

Inuyasha blinked. "What?"

"I wonder if that would be considered suicide?" Miroku mused.

"It doesn't matter," Sango gritted out. "It will mean death for our plans, and the 500 years of waiting. And I, for one, am not willing to let that all go down the drain just because you can't stay away from a teenage girl!" She gave Inuyasha's hair one last tug before releasing him, ignoring his glare as he rubbed his abused head.

"Be realistic, Inuyasha – we knew this going in," Miroku commented. "Obviously, any contact with Kagome before the day the wish was made will alter things. We're playing with time, and that is not something to be rash about."

"Another five years," Inuyasha growled, raking a clawed hand through his hair.

"What's five when you've already waited five hundred?" Sango demanded. "Will it be worth wasting all those years, to catch one glimpse of Kagome?"

"Yes." Inuyasha lifted his chin, stubbourn as usual. Sango merely stared at him. Eventually, he hung his head. "No." His eyes flicked upwards. "I ain't stupid, you know."

He dropped his eyes again, and his voice lowered until it was almost inaudible. "I just miss her."

Sango's expression softened. "We all do, Inuyasha," she soothed. "Five years isn't that long. You'll see."

"Sango is as correct as she is lovely, Inuyasha," Miroku agreed. Sango blushed. "You be quiet," she told him, her voice gentle. She turned to smile at him, but the smile slipped off her face as she beheld the lecherous gaze that was fixated on her still bared legs.

The sound of flesh meeting flesh echoed through the house.

"Pervert!"

* * *

A/N: Please review!


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